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Why consider income protection

Financial stability in case of a rainy day is something we all hope to achieve, but most of us avoid thinking about. Did you know that 1 million* Irish adults don’t have any sort of savings?

If something happened to you, would you and your family be able to rely on savings? If not, you’ll need some other way to keep paying bills and your other outgoings. This is where Income Protection comes in; it will allow you to sustain the standard of living you currently lead. It may replace up to 75% of your salary earnings should you need to take time off work. In this article, we answer some of the most common questions about Income Protection cover

How does Income Protection work?

Income Protection works as a replacement income should you become unable to work for a period of time, due to an illness or injury.

When you decide to take out an Income Protection policy, you can choose when you would like your policy to start paying out. This period of time is called the deferred period. With an Income Protection policy from Aviva, you can choose a deferred period of 4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks. The longer the deferred period you choose, the lower the monthly cost of your policy.

People most commonly consider taking out an Income Protection policy, if:

They would struggle financially without their salary

They have dependants

They're self employed

Who can take out Income Protection?

Anyone in full-time work or who earns an income through self-employment can take out Income Protection.

What are the benefits of Income Protection?

Having Income Protection offers you and your family the peace of mind that if you are struck down with an illness or injury that prevents you from working they will be able to carry on life as normal.

When receiving Income Protection payments, you can still earn Social Welfare benefits. With an Income Protection policy from Aviva the amounts of these benefits will be deducted from you Income Protection cover.

With an Income Protection policy you can claim full tax relief on all the premiums you pay (which do not exceed 10% of your total Irish income) at your marginal rate of Irish tax.

For an additional monthly fee, you can add-on Overseas Treatment Plan to your cover. To learn more about this, you can click here.

How does it differ from Specified Illness cover?

Specified Illness cover will not replace a portion of your salary when you are out of work with an illness. It will instead pay out a lump sum if you suffer from one of the 66 illness outlined in the Aviva Specified Illness Definitions Guide. For more information on Specified Illness cover, you can read our dedicated article here.

How do I take out Income Protection?

If you are an Aviva customer simply call us on 1890 64 64 64.

Not an Aviva customer? Simply call us on 1890 24 22 27 and we will guide you through the process. We are available Monday – Friday from 9am to 5pm.

*Source: Aviva Ireland Family Finance Report, September 2017.

Aviva Direct Ireland Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Car insurance and home insurance are underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited.Aviva Insurance Limited, trading as Aviva, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. Registered Branch Office in Ireland No 900175. Registered Branch Address One Park Place, Hatch Street, Dublin 2. Registered in Scotland No 2116. Registered Office Pitheavlis, Perth, PH2 0NH.

Other links

Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, trading as Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules.
Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, trading as Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, is also regulated in the UK: by the Prudential Regulation Authority for prudential rules and, to a limited extent, by the Financial Conduct Authority for applicable UK conduct rules. Registered Branch Office in Ireland (No 906464) at One Park Place, Hatch Street, Dublin 2. Tel (01) 898 7950. Registered in England (3253947) at Wellington Row, York, YO90 1WR.